BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – June 2019

BeadCrate is a monthly subscription box for beading enthusiasts. Choose from “The Enthusiast” for $18.99 a month or “The Collector” for $35 a month. You can also buy a single box to see if this subscription is for you.

This is a review of “The Enthusiast” box for $18.99/month.

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About BeadCrate

The Subscription Box: BeadCrate

The Cost: $18.99 a month + $5 shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.

The Products: A selection of beads curated around a monthly theme (or beads that are just cool and random).

Ships to: US (free for “The Collector,” $5 for “The Enthusiast”)

BeadCrate June 2019 “Beachy Keen” Review

BeadCrate is great for stash-building if you are into seed beads and Czech glass, and you’ll also usually get some useful supplies:

This letter/information sheet accompanied the shipment. This month has a lot of cool colors.

A note on prices: Items like this can come from a variety of different suppliers at many price points depending on how many you buy, etc. I couldn’t find a lot of these exact beads from common sources (e.g., Fire Mountain Gems) and it’s of questionable value to pick something similar because a slight difference in grading or size or material and you are looking at half or double the price (or an even greater difference). Even different colors of the same size and shape of glass beads are priced differently due to materials needed to make the colors!

10 x 4mm Sapphire Atlas Beads (Czech glass, 25)

I don’t know how it happened that I don’t have any other atlas beads in my collection, but I found an Etsy shop with a pretty good selection, so I’ll remedy that pretty quickly. These are long tubes with a pentagonal cross section. They come in some other lengths besides 10 mm, as well.

14 x 17mm Tierracast Antique Pewter Shell Button (USA pewter, 1)

I am a Tierracast fan. I usually use buttons like this as part of the clasp in wrap bracelets, so that’s likely how this one will end up as well. But I wasn’t feeling like making a wrap bracelet for this box so I’ve put it in reserve. Also, now I kind of want to make my own pewter buttons. I bought a casting furnace and some ladles and a hunk of pewter with Amazon points. Molten metal! What could go wrong? (No seriously, I’m reading up on it and safety as well. At any rate, I have to wait until I have a dedicated craft room so I have a clear work area.)

6mm Firepolished Rounds, Matte Crystal (Czech glass, 25)

This is a good basic size and shape. Plus, the color will go with almost anything.  I used some of these in my project this month but I still have a few left over, as well.

8 x 3mm Aquamarine Dime Beads (Czech glass, 25)

I’m not sure how I will use these yet. One possibility is putting them on headpins and linking them together in a chain for a simple necklace. At any rate, they’ll go nicely with the color palette I tend to stick with.

4mm Firepolished Rounds, Luster Iris Peridot (Czech glass, 50)

I hoard 4mm firepolished rounds because so many patterns call for them and they are also good in basic right-angle weave pieces. These match a lot of other items in my stash so I am pretty sure they will get used soon.

6mm Matte Peridot Rounds (Czech glass, 50)

I’ve got a growing stash of 6mm druks (pressed rounds) but I didn’t have this color yet. I have a few patterns that call for 6mm rounds, especially as earring centerpieces and/or as the central element in a bracelet motif. I have a lot of copper-colored beads that will look great with these.

5mm Opaque Luster Picasso Melon Rounds (Czech glass, 50)

I used some of these in earrings this month. I totally see how they fit the beachy theme – they remind me of sand! The leftover ones will go great in a pattern and I have a lot of matching beads in my stash. (My stash is taking over every horizontal surface in two rooms of my house at the moment.)

5mm Chalk Beige Luster 2-Hole Mini Tiles (Czech glass, 30)

These are listed as tiles on the information sheet but they’re actually the smaller “mini tile” size.  This makes a difference in patterns, of course, where they’re a little closer to the size of Tilas although a little thicker and with a slightly different profile.

4 x 6mm Crystal Amber Pellets (Czech glass, 30)

These come in a surprising number of colors and finishes and I’ve amassed quite a collection. Amber refers to the golden color over part of the beads. (I don’t know why it’s called “amber.”) I particularly like using these with Tee beads because of the way they interlock.

2.5 x 6mm Peridot Rizo Beads (Czech glass, 50)

Rizo beads are good for fringe, dangles, and petal elements in flower patterns. I used them as dangles in the earrings I made this month, but I have a few left over for use in a pattern, as well.

6mm Matte Emerald Rondelle (Czech glass, 50)

I really like the way the matte finish looks on this color. Even though these are a straight emerald green, the matte finish almost gives them a bit of a dark aqua tint. Or maybe that was just the lighting of the room where I work on beading. I used some of these in a pair of earrings this month.

Toho 11/0 Opaque Navy Blue Seed Beads (Japanese glass, 2.5” tube)

This navy is a little different from the Matubo navy (Matubo makes superduos, ginko beads, some seed beads, miniduos, wheel beads, rullas, nib-bits, and probably some other I’ve forgotten) that I’m heavily invested in, in my stash, but it is still a lovely color. I did need some seed beads for my project this month and these worked well. Plus there are plenty left over.

3mm Aqua Druks (Czech glass, 50)

3mm round beads are always useful in patterns and this color goes with a lot in my collection. (Basically, I’ve been collecting according to the theme of “things that will look good with copper” and shades of turquoise/aqua definitely do.) I haven’t used these yet but they are stored away for the future!

I’m still in my “brick stitch around a circle” phase but I decided to mix it up a bit by only doing this partway around the circle. These are pretty weighty but I don’t *think* they’ll be too heavy to wear. We’ll see.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for BeadCrate, as explained above in my note about prices. If you divide the cost of the box plus shipping by the number of items (I counted 13), you get about $1.84 per item. I did my current favorite “beading around a ring” thing but tried to take it a new direction by not going all the way around. I think it basically turned out like what I envisioned (I just kind of make these things up as I go along) and I’ve been wearing a lot of chunky earrings lately anyway, so I’m happy.

Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your subscription would start with the August box. Destash items and excess inventory (and sometimes whole boxes) may occasionally be available in the BeadCrate Etsy shop.

Value Breakdown: At $23.99 for this subscription (counting shipping), you are paying about $1.84 per item.

Check out my past BeadCrate reviews and visit the Craft Subscription Box List for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes.

Keep track of your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What did you think of the June 2019 BeadCrate? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?